It comes two days after Peugeot announced it was to close its Ryton
plant near the city with the loss of 2,300 jobs.
Coventry City Council said a £113m scheme at the Ricoh Arena already
included a plan for a small casino.
That is being built under existing laws but there is land available
for a much bigger complex.
Leader Ken Taylor said the plan could bring in 1,800 jobs if
successful.
'Obvious choice'
He said: "The experience of Coventry shows that, in the right
context and properly managed, a regional casino can provide a
step-change in the level and quality of regeneration to a whole
region.
"Coventry and other areas of the country have a once in a
lifetime opportunity to create a step change in their local
economies."
He said the city was the "obvious choice" for the pilot as it had
the most advanced casino site in the UK and was the only city
capable of opening a regional complex in 2007.
John McGuigan, director of regeneration at the council, said:
"Coventry's economy has never been as strong as it is at the moment.
There is £6.5bn of investment coming into the city at the moment.
Las Vegas
"The economy is changing. Thirty years ago, 55% of the people in
this city worked in manufacturing and that's now down to 18%. Our
future is in looking forward as opposed to backwards."
Production at the PSA Peugeot-Citroen plant in Ryton is due to
end in July 2007, with the loss of 2,300 jobs.
Some 27 councils are bidding for the chance to host Britain's
first Las Vegas style super casino.
Another 41 have applied for licences to build smaller ones, but
only 16 will be successful under Government plans.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/4927946.stm
Published: 2006/04/20 16:58:40 GMT
